Safety razor



E. J. GRAY SAFETY RAZOR Oct.' 2, 1934.

Filed Aug. 1, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 5a if f5 5657 47 4g OCL 2, 1934. E, 1GRAY 1,975,757

SAFETY RAZOR Filed Aug. l, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mmmm unmsmm PatentedOct. 2 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 35 Claims.

My present invention relates to razors and primarily to safety razors.

It is an object of the invention to provide a safety razor of simple andrugged construction which by shaving but once over removes the stubblesubstantially completely, and this without danger of cutting or bruisingthe skin.

Another object is to provide a razor of the above type, which is equallyapplicable for use with shaving lather or with shaving grease or cream,and which in operation will not become clogged and thus will avoid theneed for washing or cleaning the razor at intervals in the course of theshave.

Another object is to provide a razor of the multi-cutting edge typewhich does not necessitate the handling of more than one blade in use,and in which the adjustment of the various cutting edges isautomatically and accurately effected by the assembly or setting of therazor parts for use.

According to the invention two cutting edges are to functionsimultaneously and are so mounted with respect to each other in therazor as to afford ample space therebetween for free drainage of thelather in a direction transversely of the length of the cutting edge.Preferably each of the edges has a distinct toothed guard for freedrainage of the lather.

According to another feature the operation of the razor at the leadingcutting edge tends to raw the skin tight to afford a proper angle forcausing the trailing edge to complete the shaving operation. To this endI prefer to dispose the leading edge at a relatively acute angle and thetraling edge at a relatively steeper angle, with respect to the surfacebeing shaved.

The leading and the trailing cutting edge both may be embodied in asingle unit, preassembled from distinct blade elements which may bewelded or clamped together. Both cutting edges may, if desired, beformed from a single unitary blade, in which case one of the edges is atthe end of a wde tongue struck out of the body of the spring steel bladeand extending parallel to and nearly the full length of the extremecutting edge of the blade.

In the accompanying drawings in which are shown one or more of variouspossible embodiments of the several features of the invention Fig. l isa view in longitudinal cross-section of one embodiment showing the bladeapplied,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the compound head andblade clamp,

Fig. 3 is a plan of a preferred razor blade,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view indicating the mode ofoperation of the cutting blades,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in transverse crosssecton showing analternative embodiment of razor,

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the blade employed in the embodiment of Fig. 5,

Fig. 6a is a modification of the blade shown in Fig. 6, if

Figi-'6b is a cross-section of the latter,

Fig. '7 is a diagrammatic plan showing a stropping implement for one ofmy split razors with the razor in place,

Fig. 8 is an edge view of the stropper of Fig. 'l with parts in section,

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view indicating the mode of use of thestropper,

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 1 o f another alternative embodiment,

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary end elevation of the embodiment of Fig. 10, i

Fig. 12 is a dropped perspective view of the embodiment of Fig. 10,

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary view partly in crosssection of an alternativeembodiment of blade holder,

Fig. 13a is a perspective view thereof,

Fig. 14 is a plan view of an alternative blade spacer,

Fig. 15 is a sectional view indicating the position of the spacer inuse,

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of another form of spacer,

Fig. 17 is a sectional view showing the latter in use,

Fig. 18 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of spacer,

Fig. 19 is a transverse sectional view showing the spacer of Fig. 18 inuse,

Fig. 20 is a perspective view indicating the two blades and a form ofspacer combined in a unitary assembly,

Fig. 21 is a plan view of a razor blade suitable for another type ofrazor,

Fig. 22 is a diagrammatic view indicating the stropping of the razorshown in Fig. 2l,

Fig. 23 is a diagrammatic view indicating one stage in the applicationof the blade of Fig. 21 to the razor, and;

Fig. 24 is a view similar to Fig. 23 showing the blade set in the razorready for operation.

Referring now to the drawings I have shown in Figs. 1 to 3, a safetyrazor of the Gillette type embodying a handle 10, a head 11 aixedthereto,

a blade clamp 12 having a threaded stud 13 and a fastening tube 14applied from the opposite end through the hollow handle and tapped at l5at its extremity for threading upon stud 13 to clamp plate 12 inposition.

In the present embodiment, I employ the wafer blade 16 shown in Fig. 3,made of flexible or spring steel and provided with lateral cutting edges17. The blade 16 moreover has secondary cutting edges 18, said latteredges also extending longitudinally of the blade and being formed at theends of tongues 19 struck out of the metal of the blade by forming twotransverse slits 20 near the ends of the blade and a connecting slit 20therebetween. To avoid splitting the metalof the thin blade in slittingthe same, it is preferred to rst perforate the blade as at 20" and tostart each of the slits 20 at one of said perforations.

Edges 18 extend for nearly the length of the blade and parallel andcontiguous to the primary cutting edges 17. The secondary cutting edgesbeing at the outer ends of tongues or tabs 19, they are rendereddeectable out of the plane of the blade.

The identical blade shown in Fig. 3 may, if desired, be formed of twodistinct segments, the central rectangular piece bounded by edges 18 andslits 20, and the outer frame piece thereabout, which pieces are weldedtogether along the short transverse lines joining the pairs of holes20".

I have broadly designated by the term "split blade my new unitary bladeconstruction which affords a pair of parallel cutting edges that operatesimultaneously, as hereinafter described.

The razor is formed with a unitary head, provided with a compound guard,however, which includes the usual toothed guard 21 at the extreme edgesthereof and an additional or secondary toothed guard spaced inward fromthe edge of the head. The secondary guard preferably comprises humps orteeth 23 upstanding from the Shanks of the primary guard teeth 21.Preferably the secondary teeth are less in number than the primary, theextreme primary teeth 21 lacking the secondary humps 23. The curvatureof the blade holder at the crest 24 between the secondary guards 23 isof lesser convexity than that of the primary teeth 21, and of thelongitudinal frame edge 25 connecting corresponding teeth 21'.

'I'he blade clamp is of compound construction complementary to that ofthe holder or guard structure, said clamp as shown, comprising a curvedframe portion 26 having a curved longitudinal edge conforming to that ofthe head frame 25, and a cross bar 27 to overlie the primary guard teeth21. The guard also includes a central plate portion 28, integral withthe frame portion, to which it is connected by webs 29, and thecurvature of which corresponds to that of the crest 24 of the head 11.

It will be apparent that with the construction described the blade isapplied for use with the same facility as an ordinary blade. The atblade of Fig. 3 being laid upon the inverted clamp 12 with theupstanding studs 30 of the latter passing through the usual holes 31 inthe blade, said prongs are passed through the corresponding apertures 32in the head. The rod 14 inserted through handle 10 isthen threaded uponstud 13, whereby the clamping frame l2 deects the outer or primarycutting edges 17 of the blade into engagement with the primary guard 21,and the humps 23 that constitute the secondary guard, retain thesecondary cutting edges thereagainst clamped in position by the centralplate 28 of the clamp 12. Thus in the process of application, thesecondary cutting edges of the blade are automatically deflected out ofthe plane of the blade as the latter is curved for effective use, orfrom another point of view, the primary edges are deflected well beyondthe secondary edges, the latter being flexed along a curvature of lessconvexity than the former. When the blade is thus mounted for use, theassociated primary and secondary edges 17 and 18 respectively aredisplaced from each other by a distance greater than in the at separateplate as shown in Fig. 3, with the secondary guard extendingsubstantially between said cutting edges.

By providing the compound guard shown and described, the teeth 21 affordspace for drain of the lather, cream or other beard treating medium toavoid clogging the primary cutting edge, and the spaces between thehumps 23 constituting the secondary guard, similarly afford an effectivedrain with respect to the secondary cutting edge, the lather drainingfreely from the secondary edge through the opening determined thereby,near the primary edge of the blade.

Thus while two distinct cutting edges function simultaneously, and eachhas an effective guard, yet the beard treating lather or other mediumreadily escapes transversely of the length of each f of the cuttingedges not only of the primary, but also of the secondary blade andclogging in the course of use' is effectively avoided.

In Fig. 4, I have indicated diagrammatically the general mode of use ofthe razor. The primary blade 17, by this construction extends at a moreacute angle with respect to the common plane of the two cutting edgesthan does the secondary blade portion 18. The common plane of thecutting edges, of course, determines the general plane of the surfacebeing shaved, as appears clearly from Fig. 4.

The parts are so correlated that the primary blade width ts closelyagainst the guard 2l for alight cut, while the secondary blade widthextends preferably substantially to the extrer. .ity of thecorresponding guard humps 23 for a relatively heavy cut.

In use of the razor the primary or leading edge effects a light cut ofthe beard leaving a short stubble 35. The secondaryedge 18 immediatelyfollows and by reason of its steeper angle and its adjustment for closecut, it will remove all of said stubble 35. In this operation it shouldbe noted that the progress of the leading or primary edge with itsadvance acutely inclined guard 2l is resisted by the skin to a greaterdegree than that of the secondary blade which extends at a. steeperangle and has a lesser quantity of lather and length of stubble toresist.

Accordingly the primary edge will stretch j smooth the skin immediatelytherebehind as at 36 affording the proper cutting angle for thesecondary or trailing blade 18.

By my invention I have thus obviated the need for shaving two or threetimes in order to effect reasonable closeness, as would be required wereonly a single edge employed adjusted for a light cut. I have alsoavoided the danger of cutting into the skin and causing irritation atthe places where the surface of the skin would tend to pile up, Were itattempted to effect a close shave with only a single edge adjusted forheavy cut.

It is of course understood that while I prefer the double edge blade,affording four cutting edges as embodied in my split blade construction,

the primary and secondary cutting edges may be provided. if desired. foronly one edge of the blade, and omitted for the other edge.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have shown the application oi the general principlesof my invention to a razor of the Gem type. In this type of razor thehandle has a sheet metal head plate 41 formed at its outer edge with theguard 42. The removable blade 43 which has a stiifening back 44 has itscutting edge 45 arrested by stops 46 at the ends of the guard 42. Theblade is clamped in position against the' guard by means of a clampingplate 47 hinged at 48 by ears 49 and having a leaf spring construction50 for resil-v iently maintaining the plate 47 against the blade. 'Iheleaf spring extends through a port 51 near the finger piece 52 of theclamp. In the present embodiment the head 41 is provided with anauxiliary guard 53 extending the length thereof contiguous to theprimary guard 42. 'I'he blade 43 has a cut-out tab 54 similar to tab 19in Fig. 3, the edge of which is sharpened to form a secondarycuttingedge 55.

When-the compound or split blade is applied, it will be seen that theupstanding or secondary guard 53 will deflect the secondary blade or tab54 above the plane of the primary blade. The clamping cover 47 isprovided with a longitudinal opening 56 through which the secondaryblade 55 extends, the upper edge 57 of said opening serving to clampsaid secondary blade width in position, while the border strap 58 of theclamp plate,

retains the primary cutting edge 45 in position against guard 42.. 'Ihemode of operation will be apparent from the description of theembodiment previously described.

In Figs. 6a and 6b is shown a blade equivalent to that of Fig. 6 andembraced within my deiinition of a split blade. In this embodiment thesecondary element a is distinct from the primary or U-shaped frameelements b, said two elements being retained in a unitary assembly by aback c doubled over the mounting edges of the two blade elements andclamped thereto. Blades a and b may both be of flexible steel, or part bmay be stiil'er than part a, so that only the latter flexes, whenapplied in the razor as shown in Fig. 5.

In Figs. 7, 8, and 9 I have diagrammatically shown a blade holder bywhich a split blade of the type described may be stropped orresharpened. Illustratively, this holder comprises a pair of bladegripping arms 60 and 61 hinged together at 62, the free extremities 64oi the arms constituting the handle. The blade holder 63 comprisessimilar rectangular enlargements on each of the arms and near the hinge62. One of the arms has studs 65 to extend through the holes 3i of theblade to be stropped, and into corresponding holes 66 in the other arm6l, whereby the blade is securely retained as long as the handle isgrasped. The secondary edges 18 of the blade extend immediately beyondthe edges of blade holder 63, the length of which is wholly betweenslits 20. Holder 63 thus securely retains tab 19. while permitting exureof the rest of the blade with respect thereto.

The manner of use will be clear from Fig. 9 in which it will be seenthat drawing the -razor over the strop 67 from left to right effectssimultaneous sharpening of one side of the primary and of the secondaryedge, while the return stroke from right to left similarly effectssharpening of the other side of said edges. While the secondary edge ineach case is firmly retained at the angle at which the stropping tool isinclined the primary edge is in each case deflected by the pressure ofthe tool against the strop or stone, to the more acute angle shown,which corresponds to the inclination of said edge when.

used in shaving.

The principle indicated in the device just described may obviously bereadily applied to various known types of stroppers heretofore used withordinary blades and in which only one cutting edge functions at a time.

In Figs. 10 and 11 is shown an embodiment of the type, in which twoseparate and distinct blades are employed for simultaneous shaving. Asbest shown in Fig. 10, the two blades may be of well known type, onebeing shown at 70 and the other at 7l, the latter of width slightly lessthan the former.. Preferably an intermediate plate 72 is interposedbetween the two main plates, and serves not only to correctly space theblades, but also to allord an adequate path 0f escape for the soap,cream, or other hair treating medium. If the plate 72 were of the widthof the blades or of nearly said width, the soap or other hair treatingmedium would fill the shallow groove determined between the blades andwould have no adequate path of escape, thereby hindering eiicentshaving. My spacer is preferably a wing-shaped plate affording widenotches 731mm opposite lateral edges for pas-V sage of the soap, each ofthese notches delivering into a deep notch 74 connected with a groove 75to the opposite edge of the plate so that the lather can traverse fromthe cutting edge through the opposite edge of the blade. dition. obliquegrooves 76 are preferably provided near the ends of the plate 72 toafford a further path of escape for the lather.

While the two blades with a spacer may be held in position in a holderby any of various possible means, I have shown a preferred embodimentwhich is distinguished by cheapness and facility of use. In thisembodiment, the handle and head are formed of a unitary stamping ofresilient sheet metal. 'I'his sheet comprises end wings 77 and 78 whichtogether form the head of the holder, and the intermediate or connectingportion 79 is a reversely bent length of reduced width. The lateraledges of the divided head, are formed with the toothed guardconstruction 80. Upon each section of the head is formed a locking stud8l preferably an oblique stud, which may be riveted in position as at82. In assembly the handle parts 79 are drawn together, the primaryblade is passed over studs 81 at longitudinal slit 70 followed by thespacer plate which is passed over studs 8l at its holes 82, and finallythe secondary blade 71 is superposed over the plate 72 by passing itslongitudinal slot 7l over the studs 8l. Thereupon, the pressure on thehandle parts 79 is released, so that the metal handle portions springapart until the oblique locking studs 8l overlap the extremities of theouter blade 71 thereby securely retaining the parts in assembledposition. It will be obvious that byagain pressing the two sections ofthe handle together the blades and spacer may be released and removed.

In Figs. 13 and 13a is shown an alternative embodiment for mounting apair of the distinct blades in a razor of the general type shownin Fig.5. In this embodhnent I have shown a frame piece comprising a base 85and upstanding end walls 86 affording a pair of longitudinal notches orgrooves 87 for lodging the two blades 88 in In ad-` parallelism.Preferably a locking lever 89 is plvoted as at 90 to the head 85 and isu rged by a leaf spring 91 against the back or non-cutting edges 92 ofthe blades to force the latter against the bottoms oftheir holding slotsor grooves 87.

In Figs. 14 and 15 is shown a razor of the type of Figs. 10 and 12 withan alternative form of spacer. 'Ihe spacer here comprises a single plate93 of metal having down-turned serrated edges 94 affording space for thedrainage of the lather or other beard treating medium between the twoblades b' and b2.

In Figs. 16 and 17 is shown a further alternative form in which thespacer comprises a U- shaped block of metal having its base bar -95retained in close contiguity to the secondary blade b2, the arms 96 ofsaid block with the base bar thereof serving to maintain the \two bladesb and b2 in parallelism. The cross bar is formed with transverse grooves97 to facilitate the flow or passage of the lather.

In Figs. 18 and 19 is shown a further embodiment of spacer composed of apair of plates 98 spaced by a pair of end blocks 99 to which said platesare welded or otherwise integrally secured. Ihe end plates 99 are formedwith openings 100 for escape of lather.

In Fig. 20 is shown an embodiment in which the two blades b and b2 areintegrally and irremovably secured together by intermediate spacerblocks 101 preferably riveted together at the ends of said blades as at102.

If desired the blocks 101 may be provided with draining slots (notshown) similar-to those shown at in Figs. 18 and 19.

Each of thev embodiments described thus affords an open space throughwhich the lather or other beard treating medium can readily escape in a.direction transversely of the cutting blade without clogging the latter.

In Figs. 21 to 24 is shown a construction embodying the generalprinciple of my invention as applied to a razor of the Auto Strop type.To this end the secondary or inner blade 105 has a roller back 106 rigidthereon, and the primary or frame blade piece 107 has similar rollerstructures 108 at the ends thereof opposite the cutting edge. 'Ihe backs106 and 108 have a pintle 109 longitudinally therethrough about whichthe two blades may pivot relatively, and which combines the blades intoa unitary structure. The blade elements may both be flexible, or onlythe inner one 105 may be flexible as in the embodiment of Fig. 6a.

In the stropper shown diagrammatically in Fig. 22, the strop 110 isshown between rollers 111 and 112 the latter of which frictionallyengages roller backs 106 and 108 so that the rollers 106 and 108 revolveuntil arrested by the contact of the cutting edges of the correspondingblades with the strop, as best shown in Fig. 22. When the strop ispulled in direction opposite that indicated by the arrows the bladeswill flop over to the opposite side of roller 112, and be stropped atthe corresponding faces of the cutting edges.

As appears in the diagrammatic views of Figs. 23 and 24, the usual guard113 of the razor is brought in position in the usual manner to retainthe primary blade in place, and an auxiliary or secondary guard 114 isprovided, to be pushed in for deecting the secondary blade 105 totrailing or operative position.

It will thus be seen that there is herein described a device in whichthe several features of this invention are embodied, and which device inits action attains the various objects of the in vention and is wellsuited to meet the requirements of practical use.

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A safety razor comprising a pair of cutting edges, a holder forsupporting the same in effective closely continuous and parallelrelation, said holder including passageways through the holder from eachcutting edge for escape of the hair treating medium from therebetween.

2. A safety razor including a handle, a primary cutting edge support, asecondary cutting edge support parallel and in contiguity thereto, meansfor retaining a pair of cutting edges against and on the upper side ofsaid supports, each of said 100 supports having an open passagetransversely thereof for escape of the hair treating medium to theunderside of the said supports.

3. A razor comprising a handle, a pair of blade edges and means forretaining said edges for 105 simultaneous use in parallelism to eachother for simultaneous use, and with the advance edge directed at a moreacute angle with respect to the plane connecting said edges, than thetrailing blade.

4. As an article of manufacture a razor blade having for simultaneoususe a primary cutting edge and a secondary similarl directed cuttingedge substantially parallel to sai primary edge and between the lateraledges of the blade.

- 5. A safety razor blade comprising a thin steel wafer having a pair oflateral cutting edges, reversely facing tongues slit in said wafer andpresenting secondary cutting edges parallel to the respective cuttingedges of the blade and of nearly the length of said blade.

6. A razor unit including a pair of cutting edgesl for simultaneous use,said razor comprising a pair of distinct blade elements including aninner and an outer blade, the latter extending as a frame about thelateral and cutting edges of the former connected thereto, and meansremote from the cutting edges for retaining the two blades in assembledposition.

7. A safety razor comprising a handle, a head 130 having a primary guardand a secondary guard, each having drain passages transverselytherethrough, a removable blade having a primary cutting edge and asecondary cutting edge parallel thereto for coaction with saidrespective guards, and means retaining said blades in position, saidrazor having parts for retaining said secondary edge deflected out ofthe general plane of the blade.

8. A split razor blade including a primary cutting edge, a stiffeningback at the opposite edge and a secondary cutting edge parallel to saidprimary edge and struck out of the material of the blade.

9. A safety razor comprising a handle, a head having a guard at one edgethereof, stop means on said guard for positioning the primary edge of acompound cutting blade, an upstanding ledge in said head for deflectingthe secondary cutting edge out of the plane of the blade and a pivoted15G clamping plate for concurrently pressing the primary and thesecondary edges against the corresponding parts of the holder.

10. A safety razor comprising -a handle, and a blade holder affordingmeans for supporting a pair of cutting edges in contiguous parallelrelation, said holder affording an open passageway between said cuttingedges from one to the other, to prevent clogging with the hair treatingmedium. Y

11. A safety razor comprising a handle and a pair of relatively movablewidths of blade, said razor having a blade holder retaining said widthswith their cutting edges in parallelism to each other for simultaneoususe of the cutting edges thereof, the advance blade width extending withrespect to the plane connecting said edges at an angle more acute thanthe trailing blade width.

.12. A thin steel razor blade having a lateral cutting edge and a tongueslit from the material of the blade, said tongue presenting a cuttingedge parallel to said rst cutting edge.`

13. A safety razor blade of thin exible steel having a lateral primary.cutting edge and a tongue slit. therein, presenting a secondary cuttingedge parallel and contiguous to said primary edge, said tongue beingflexible to permit deflection of said secondary edge out-of the plane ofsaid blade.

' 14. A safety razor comprising a handle and a head having a primaryblade support and a secondary blade support, a removable flexible bladepresenting a pair of contiguous cutting edges in a common plane and acompound blade clamping member for relatively deilecting said cuttingedges, for coaction with'the respective supports.

15. A safety razor for a split blade of the type having a pair ofcontiguous cutting edges, said razor comprising a handle, a headincluding a blade holder and a blade clamp, said holder and clampincluding parts for deiiecting the cutting edges of the split blade tobe in different planes, and for retaining said cutting edges ineffective position.

16. A razor comprising a holder, a head thereon, said head including apair of lateral primary guards, a pair of lateral secondary guardsunitary therewith and parallel thereto, the primary guards extendingbeyond and along a curve of greater convexity than, the secondaryguards, and a compound blade clamping member having parts coacting withthe respective guards for Vclamping a double-edged split blade ineffective position.

1'?. A safety razor comprising a handle, a head, a guard at one edge ofthe head, a split blade, stops retaining the cutting edge of said bladewith respect to said guard, a stop for deflecting the secondary edge ofthe split blade out of the plane of said blade and a retainer forclamping the two cutting edges in position.

18. A safety razor forl a split bladecf the type having a pair -ofcontiguous cutting edges, said razor comprising a handle, a head havinga lateral guard, a secondary guard unitary therewith and parallelthereto, a unitary compound blade clamping member having an outer edgecoacting with the outer guard to clamp the primary blade edgethereagainst and an inner portion coacting with the inner guard to clampthe secondary blade edge thereagainst.

19. Means for sharpening or stropping a split razor blade of the typecomprising an extreme edge and an edge parallel thereto on the end of acutout tab, said means comprising a clamp for retaining the tab in rigidposition and leaving free for deection, the outer frame portion carryingthe primary edge.

20.4'A razor unit including a pair of cutting edges for simultaneoususe, said razor comprising a pair of distinct blade elements includingan inner and an outer blade,l the latter extending as a frame about thelateral and cutting edges of the former, and a frame clamping the edgesof the two blades opposite the cutting edge in fixed position as aunitary assembly.

21. A razor having a blade of the split type comprising an inner and anouter blade, the latter extending as a frame about the lateral andcutting edges of the former, a common pivot 'support for the two bladesat the edge thereof opposite lthe cutting edges, a razor head forretaining said composite blade in position, said head comprising ashiftable stop for retaining the outer cutting edge and a shiftable stopfor deflecting and retaining the inner of the cutting blades out of theplane of the outer blade.

22. A razor blade having slits transverse to a cutting edge and spacedfromthe corners of the blade, the portion of the blade containing saidcutting edge being intermediate said slits and flush with the surface ofthe blade.

23. A razor blade having slits at, right angles to a cutting edge andspaced from the corners of the blade, the portion of the bladecontaining said cutting edge being intermediate said slits and flushwith the surface of the blade.

24. A razor blade having one or more cutting edges and a pair of slitstransverse to each cutting edge and spaced from the corners of theblade, the portions of the blade containing said cutting edge or edgesbeing intermediate vthe slits corresponding thereto and flush with thesurface of the blade.

25. An oblong razor blade adapted to be flexed about its longitudinalaxis and having transverse slits near its klongitudinal ends and acutting edge intermediate said slits, the portion of the bladecontaining said cutting edge being'flush with the surface of the blade.

26. The process of preparing a cutting edge of a plane razor blade madeof sheet steel intermediate slits'therein, which consists in flexingrelatively to one another the blade portion intermediate said slits andthe portion external thereto, applying sharpening operations to an edgeofsaid intermediate blade portion, and letting said intermediate portionreturn to its normal lposition in the plane dened by said blade.

27. A guarded safetyY razor blade comprising a single sheet of flexiblemetal, a slot therethrough longitudinally of the blade and so spacedfrom an edge thereof as to form a metal strip outside the slot, and theends of the slot extending angularly inward of the blade in a mannerrendering the said strip laterally resilient relative to the bodyportion of the blade, the long edge of the body portion of the bladeformed by the slot being sharpened and the said strip being normally inthe plane of the blade whereby to protect the sharpened edge.

28. As a new article of manufacture, a flexible wafer type razor bladeof generally oblong shape having a generally U-shaped slot therein, thelegs of said slot extending transversely of the blade near the ends ofthe latter and the intermediate portion of said slot extendinglongitudinally of the blade, that portion of the blade which defines theinner wall of the intermediate portion of said slot being sharpened toaf- 4150 ford a cutting edge, the legs of the slot being sumciently longt permit flexing of the sharp edged strip of material between them outof the plane of the blade. 4

29. A iiexible water type blade apertured in the region of itslongitudinal median line to receive centering devices, said blade havinglongitudinally extending slots spaced inwardly from the sides thereofand having transverse slots communicating with the ends of said rstmentioned slots and extending inwardly therefrom and terminating shortof said longitudinal median line, said longitudinal and transverse slotscooperating to define blade sections flexibly displaceable from theplane of the blade, those portions of the blade which define the innerWalls of the longitudinal slots being sharpened toV afford cuttingedges.

30. A iiexible razor blade including a sharp edged cutting sectiondisposed wholly within the conilnes of the periphery of the blade andspaced i'rom all of the edges of the blade and displaceable by flexingfrom the plane of the blade to present said cutting edge in operativecutting position.

31. A iiexible wafer type blade having a cutting edge and a pair o!slits transverse of said cutting edge and spaced from the ends of theblade, the portion of the blade containing said cutting edge lyingbetween the slits and being capable of flexing independently of theblade portions from which it is separated by said slits.

32. A safety blade i'or razors comprising a iiat blank provided with alongitudinal slot adiacent to one edge and having inturned ends whichset of! transversely extending tonguesVthe said tongues and the portionoutside the slot forming a resilient guard, and the inner edge oi' theslot being sharpened.

33. A safety razor comprising a cap and a cooperating clamping memberadapted to engage a iiexible blade between them, and a blade having acutting edge and a resilient guard lying normally in the plane thereof,the cap being shaped to displace the guard laterally with respect tosaid cutting edge when the blade is clamped in shaving position.

34. A safety razor comprising a. guard plate,

a slotted cap therefor, a handle securing the cap to the guard plate, ablade provided with a plurality of shaving edges and disposed betweenthe cap and guard plate in a manner whereby some of said edges extendfrom between the longitudinal edges of the cap and guard plate while theremaining edges extend through the slots.

35. A safety razor comprising a guard plate, a cap for said guard plateand being provided with longitudinally arranged slots, va handle forsecuring the cap to the guard plate, a blade detachably disposed betweenthe cap and guard plate and being provided with a plurality of cuttingedges, said guard plate and cap being shaped to dispose the cuttingedges in superimposed pairs, the lower edges being straight andextending from between the cap and guard plate, and the upper edgesextending through the slots.

EDWARD J. GRAY.

